"JESUS IS THE ROCK"

Good Evening to All!

(24)"Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: (25) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (26) But everyone who hears these saying of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: (27) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house: and it fell. And great was its fall." Matthew 7:24-27

The key difference in the two houses is not their outside appearance. Pharisees and scribes may seem to be as righteous as the heirs of the kingdom. The key in the story is the foundations. The house on the rock pictures a life founded on a proper relationship to Christ (16:18, 1 Cor. 10:4, 1 Peter 2:4-8). It will stand the test of Christ's judgment, but the house on the sand will fail the test. (1 Cor. 3:12-15).

A friend commented on my last post in which Pharisees were mentioned, that the Pharisees did sincerely believe that they were right with the Lord, only they were mistaken. They thought as long as they followed all the "laws" and "acted like they were supposed to, everything was all right. They were missing the most important part. a relationship with God. Anyone can go to church, sit on a pew and sing a few songs. In the end, they will get up, say "I didn't get anything out of that service" and leave unchanged. If a person truly has a relationship with God, they will put into the service their love and passion for God, and leave that service feeling changed, renewed. A person will only get out of a relationship what they put into it. God loves us all, but we will only feel Him if we allow ourselves. If we start thinking about what's going on around us, what's going on after church, or even when we try to pray we start thinking of a million things, we cannot be focusing on the One we need to be focusing on. Therefore, we wouldn't notice if He was there or not. His Word says He inhabits the praises of His people. That means when we praise Him, whether it's with lifted hands, song, words, whatever kind of praise you are comfortable with, He will inhabit that praise and you will be able to feel His presence.

The above verses are telling me that I had better be sincere about my relationship with God and build my foundation upon Him only. I tried years ago to have my feet set in both worlds. I believed I was a Christian, just because I went to church sometimes and was a "good person". The trouble was, I wanted to live by the "world's standards, and not really knowing the Word at that time, I didn't see anything wrong in what I was doing. Wearing Very immodest clothing, working in night clubs and such things. If I would have paid more attention to God's Word than just a verse now and then, I would have been saved a long time before I was. I am so glad God sent me a "wake-up call" and introduced me to some people who showed me the truth and encouraged me to start reading my Bible so I would know what God actually expected of me.

As the Bible says you cannot serve two masters. Satan is the God of this world and will do his best to keep us preoccupied with "stuff" so we won't "have time" for a sincere relationship with God. Oh sure, he might allow us to go to church at first, but on the days which there is no church service, we don't think about God, because our days are consumed with work, kids and family, or school. Our nights are consumed with "entertainment of some sort or other preoccupations. The only time we might remember to pray is if we're in trouble or need something. Eventually, we "get to busy to go to church (we are too tired from staying up late the night before), or Sunday might be our only day off from work, so we want to "sleep in". See? I've been there. I finally woke up and realized that I better get a handle on who I wanted "in my corner". I realized I better get serious about my relationship with God and stop providing lip-service and motions. I better get God's Word in m;y heart. I can't help but think back to WWII and Hitler, the burning of books and Bibles. I keep asking myself. If that ever happens here, will I have enough of the Word in my heart to be able to quote it and rely on it? You know, it is possible for this scenario to happen, so it wouldn't hurt to be ready in case it does. If it doesn't then we will still know it if our eyesight gets so bad and ears get so bad we can't see to read or hear the tv or radio. I'm not trying to sound like a gloom and doom kind of person, but I believe it's better to be safe than sorry, and be ready for anything that comes along.

We are the temples of God. Don't you think He wants to live in a temple with a solid foundation? To have an intimate relationship with God, we need to develop and solid foundation on "the rock". After all, Jesus did tell Peter "upon this Rock, I will build my church." He wants a church and a "temple" that will stand the test of adversity and time, not one that will "slide into the ocean, or blow which ever way the wind blows.

God knows what's ahead of us. Satan knows he has but a short time and he is going to pull out all the stops, so we must be ready. He will twist God's Word around so well that it will sound like the truth, but in reality will be deceptive enough that will take us right where he wants us to go unless we can differentiate the minuscule truth part from the lies he tells.

If I seem to be kind of "all over the place", it's because I keep thinking of things I want to elaborate on and say, and I try to include them where they would go best, but then it seems that the following paragraph is "way out there". Needless to say, I hope this is all put together well enough so it's not hard to follow my train of thought. Sometimes I think my caboose ends up in front of my engine. LOL! Anyway, I hope this was beneficial to you tonight as I know it was definitely a "different kind of post.

Good Night and May God Bless!